Development of an Electronic Food Stamp Application System in New York City

Client:

Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services for the City of New York

Faculty:

Dennis Smith and Ana Oliveira

Team:

"Cynthia Brothers, Noemi Figueroa, Alyson Grant, Dan Meenach"

Year:

2008

"Currently, the application for food stamps in New York City is a paper­driven process, whereas many other jurisdictions have made at least part of their processes electronic. The team has performed an assessment of and will make recommendations on how NYC's food stamp application and recertification processes could be streamlined technologically. Possibilities include replacement of in­person interviews with phone calls and in person document submission with electronic submission to enhance the application experience and speed of determination to allow eligible New Yorkers to gain access to services. To accomplish this, the team has worked with various food stamp program and policy staff in New York and other states to conduct a nationwide scan of food stamp application systems that involve electronic processes and identify which of these could be used in NYC and what waivers would be required prior to implementation. "